Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Arista Networks, Inc. (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $100.30, but opened at $105.02. Arista Networks shares last traded at $102.73, with a volume of 3,615,985 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ANET has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.25 price target (up previously from $86.25) on shares of Arista Networks in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Arista Networks from $110.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on Arista Networks from $92.25 to $106.25 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Arista Networks from $96.25 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Arista Networks from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arista Networks currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $105.83.

Arista Networks Stock Up 1.2 %

The firm's fifty day moving average is $111.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.61. The firm has a market cap of $145.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.39, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.08.

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The technology company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.08. Arista Networks had a net margin of 40.29% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 earnings per share. Arista Networks's quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arista Networks, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles H. Giancarlo sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.51, for a total value of $892,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 163,784 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,263,553.84. This represents a 4.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kenneth Duda sold 80,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.09, for a total value of $8,407,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 12,976 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,363,647.84. The trade was a 86.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 331,160 shares of company stock worth $36,380,165. 3.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Arista Networks

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANET. Caitlin John LLC boosted its position in shares of Arista Networks by 174.7% during the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 239 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 264 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 264 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. New Millennium Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arista Networks by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. New Millennium Group LLC now owns 260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Arista Networks by 1,012.0% during the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the period. 82.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arista Networks Company Profile

Arista Networks, Inc engages in the development, marketing, and sale of data-driven, client to cloud networking solutions for data center, campus, and routing environments in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. Its cloud networking solutions consist of Extensible Operating System (EOS), a publish-subscribe state-sharing networking operating system offered in combination with a set of network applications.